JUSTICE IN MEXICO WWW.JUSTICEINMEXICO.ORG TRANS-BORDER INSTITUTE October 2009 News Report MONTHLY SUMMARY According to Reforma’s running tally, nationwide cartel-related killings are down 22% during this reporting period, but remain on track to surpass the levels seen in 2008. Also, the National Conference of Supreme Court Presidents and Attorneys General convened to discuss challenges inherent in the recently ratified narcomenudeo law, which decriminalized controlled substances deemed for personal consumption but may have the unintended effect of further burdening state judicial systems. Arturo Chávez Chávez was confirmed as Mexico’s new federal Attorney General. A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Mexico acted “swiftly, transparently, and efficaciously” to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus earlier this year. Meanwhile, Reforma reported that 90% of Mexican law enforcement officials detained this year for corruption charges are local police forces. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières) released a report faulting Mexico’s state and federal governments for allowing crimes against journalists to go unpunished and blames excessive government bureaucracy as a primary culprit. Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled Oaxaca Govenor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz was responsible for human rights abuses inflicted in a crackdown on a May 2006 teacher strike. Also, Mexico’s Senate hearings are working to select candidates to take over as Mexico’s next Human Rights Ombudsmen. LAW AND ORDER CARTEL VIOLENCE Rate of cartel-related killings declines somewhat nationwide, though still on track to surpass 2008 While violence has subsided nationwide since the last reporting period, the state of Chihuahua has continued on its trajectory and Sinaloa saw a significant spike in ejecuciones, or cartel-related killings, during September and the first week of October. According to Reforma’s “Ejecutómetro,” a running tally of ejecuciones nationwide and by state, such killings are down 22% during this reporting period, which saw Justice in Mexico News Report, Oct-09 p. 1 447 ejecuciones as compared to last, which saw 573. Most notable among states seeing relative calm over the past four weeks is Durango, which at 37 cartel killings is down 46% during the previous four weeks. Many analysts point to earlier spikes in violence in Durango as evidence that troop deployments to Chihuahua were pushing the violence south into more interior states. 2009 Cartel-Related Killings by State For its part, Chihuahua, currently with 1,581 ejecuciones and nearly Through October 9th 11 weeks remaining in 2009 appears certain to surpass its 2008 total Aguascalientes 24 of 1,649. That state suffered 15 homicides over a 12-hour period on Baja California 202 October 12, and the state Attorney General’s Office reports that since BC Sur 1 the onset of Joint Operation Chihuahua the agency has opened over Campeche 2 1,000 murder investigations. In Sinaloa, where ejecuciones are up Coahuila 132 30% over last reporting period, the State Attorney General’s Office has advised police officers to avoid public gatherings, to always carry Colima 10 their firearms with them, and to avoid being seen in public with their Chiapas 21 family members as much as possible, as part of a new strategy to Chihuahua 1581 reduce attacks against police officers and their families in the state. Distrito Federal 141 This year, thirty-three police officers have been murdered in Sinaloa Durango 502 out of at least 360 nationwide. Guanajuato 130 Guerrero 494 Violence in Baja California also saw a jump after weeks of relative Hidalgo 29 calm. That state, which by any realistic scenario will remain well below its 2008 ejecuciones total of 604 (it now stands at 202), still Jalisco 149 saw some of the more high-profile killings witnessed in recent weeks. Edomex 261 In late September, gunmen opened fire on a group of police cruisers, Michoacan 292 killing three officers and wounding four. Early on October 9, the body Morelos 46 of the man in charge of state driver’s licenses was found naked, Nayarit 22 mutilated, and hanging from a bridge over the Tijuana-Playas de Nuevo León 66 Rosarito highway. Upon revelation of the man’s identity, Governor Oaxaca 6 José Guadalupe Osuna Millán announced that there would be an Puebla 19 investigation into the official’s job functions. Querétaro 6 Despite the recent nationwide downturn in violence, it appears likely Quintana Roo 21 that 2009 ejecuciones will surpass those of 2008, which will again San Luis Potosi 7 raise questions as to the effectiveness of President Felipe Calderón’s Sinaloa 522 strategy of mass deployments of troops to troubled zones. Such Sonora 76 questions are underscored by the apparent ineffectiveness of the Tabasco 49 strategy in Chihuahua in reducing cartel violence there, and the Tamaulipas 46 continued reports of human rights abuses and apparent inaction and lack of transparency on the part of the military justice system in Tlaxcala 3 addressing them. There was some speculation that the replacement Veracruz 53 of Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora with Arturo Chávez Yucatán 0 Chávez signaled a coming change in strategy, although there is no Zacatecas 23 clear indication that that is the case. Despite continued violence and Source: Reforma alleged human rights abuses polls consistently show that public support for the President’s strategy remains high. SOURCES: Cabrera, Javier. “Advierten a policías de Sinaloa ‘cuidarse.’” El Universal October 3, 2009. Martínez, Julieta. “Era funcionario el hombre colgado de puente en Tijuana.” El Universal October 9, 2009. “15 ejecuciones en 12 horas en Ciudad Juárez.” El Financiero October 12, 2009. “Ejecutómetro.” Reforma accessed October 14, 2009. Justice in Mexico News Report, Oct-09 p. 2 POLICE REFORM Tijuana police officers to receive training in United States Recently appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Carlos Pascual has rescinded the U.S. State Department travel advisory for Tijuana, recognizing recent efforts to improve public security in the region. Such measures include purges of corrupt officers from the police ranks, U.S.-side training for Baja California ministerial police officers, and the creation of a tourism police force that will patrol the popular Tijuana- Ensenada corridor of Baja California. City officials in San Diego and three municipalities of Baja California are working on a plan for San Diego police officers to train a group of 350 Baja California police officers that will form a bilingual “Metropolitan Police” to patrol the popular Baja California coastline. City officials in Tijuana, Rosarito Beach and Ensenada hope that the new police force, which will be easily distinguishable from other corporations by their distinct uniforms and patrol vehicles, will help to improve the negative image of the state formed in recent years by cartel violence and U.S. State Department travel advisories. Data suggests that violence in the city has decreased drastically since thousands of soldiers were deployed there late last year. Tijuana mayor Jorge Ramos said that the new force will be the second phase of the Regional Public Security Plan, following the removal of 438 Tijuana municipal police officers deemed unfit for service. San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders expressed that the force would be good for his city, as San Diego is a gateway to Baja California, and that the two sides “share the same families, the same culture and the same business opportunities.” In related news, six Ministerial Police officers from the Baja California Attorney General’s Office have received training from the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Seattle, Washington in methods related to the justice reforms set to go into effect in Baja California in 2010. Later this month another group of 14 state agents will receive training in Las Vegas, Nevada; and in early November 11 more will travel to Portland, Oregon for the same purpose. Currently 219 individuals in the State Attorney General’s Office (Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado, PGJE) have received training for the new justice system. As Baja California officials await the fruits of the above developments in police reform, authorities in Tijuana’s municipal police force have come forward to criticize the federal government for leaving them alone to combat organized crime in the city. Julián Leyzaola Pérez, Tijuana’s Secretary of Public Security, asserted that no other corporation confronts drug traffickers, pointing out that during Mayor Ramos’ first 21 months in office, 40 municipal police officers have been killed in cartel-related violence. Leyzaola Pérez, a retired Army colonel, said in an interview with El Universal that Tijuana police respond to an average of 2,000 citizen reports daily, a task made more daunting given the current protocol of squad cars operating in groups of three for reasons of safety. Mayor Ramos has requested that the National Security Council authorize the release of more federal agents to Tijuana—specifically from the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Special Investigations and Organized Crime (Subprocuraduría de Investigacíon Especializada en Delincuencia Organizada, SIEDO)—to perform investigative functions for which the municipal police are not trained or equipped. SOURCES: Martínez, Julieta. “Luchamos solos contra el narco, reclama Tijuana.” El Universal October 2, 2009. “Capacitan a ministeriales en procuraduría de Washington.” La Crónica de Baja California October 5, 2009. Berestein, Leslie. “City, Baja California officials working on tourist-friendly police force.” San Diego Union Tribune October 5, 2009. Martínez, Aldo. “Capacitará en SD policía turística.” El Sol de Tijuana October 5, 2009. Justice in Mexico News Report, Oct-09 p. 3 SSP Secretary García Luna proposes merging ministerial, municipal police forces The Secretary of Public Security (SSP), Genaro García Luna, has proposed to the Chamber of Deputies the nationwide merging of municipal police forces with state-level ministerial police. In defending the proposed measure, García Luna stressed the objective of streamlining resources and institutional capacity through a nationwide standardization of police methods and procedures.